Russia sees window of opportunity to expand attacks as Ukraine awaits further US aid, officials say

Western intelligence believes Russia is seeking to exploit what it sees as a “window of opportunity” to further step up air and ground attacks on Ukraine to take advantage of the time it will take new weapons and ammunition from the newly passed US military aid package to arrive in significant quantities, three officials with direct knowledge of the latest assessments told CNN.

Western intelligence believes Russia is seeking to exploit what it sees as a “window of opportunity” to further step up air and ground attacks on Ukraine to take advantage of the time it will take new weapons and ammunition from the newly passed US military aid package to arrive in significant quantities, three officials with direct knowledge of the latest assessments told CNN. The officials said there will be a lag time between the approval of the funds and the arrival of the majority of the assistance that will make a significant difference on the frontlines, a delay which they believe Russia will seek to exploit. Overnight on Wednesday, Russia unleashed a massive missile and drone attack on Ukraine. Ukrainian authorities say Russia fired more than 50 missiles and 20 drones, targeting energy infrastructure around the country. Ukraine’s largest power company said this was the fifth time Russia has attacked its facilities in the last six weeks. “They are trying to cause as many suffering to Ukrainian people as possible now in order to take advantage of and destroy Ukrainian moral,” Ukrainian parliament member Oleksiy Goncharenko told CNN on Wednesday. The months-long delay in approval of the funding was resolved last month when Republican Speaker Mike Johnson defied opposition from the right of his party to bring a major security package that paired Ukraine funding with aid for Israel and Taiwan up for a vote. But months of inaction has resulted in real costs for Ukrainian forces on the battlefield in both territory and casualties, these officials say. Russian forces are expected to attempt to make further progress and consolidate earlier gains, before this window of opportunity closes.